Marketing teams can stretch their online marketing dollars by creating more user-friendly, actionable analytics. Find out how to set up these performance snapshots to elicit the best data for your clients.

Web analytics has always been an important online marketing tool because, let's face it, clients like to know how their money is being spent and if their investment is paying off. These days, in particular, this is certainly the case.

While I do not want to be the umpteenth person to list the effects of the economy on the digital industry, it is an influencer that cannot be overlooked. As the economic issues on Wall Street continue to ripple outward, it is safe to say that tracking marketing performance has become a top priority for almost every organization.

One way marketing teams can stretch their online marketing dollars is to capitalize on the information compiled and delivered via their analytics dashboards. There are countless analytics platforms available for advertisers to use -- some free of cost and others that require a sizeable investment -- and now when every dollar counts, no matter which analytics platform is used, it is imperative that dashboards are set up to elicit the right information for marketers. As Geary's analytics manager once put it, no one wants to end up with a warehouse of unused reports because that is not useful for anyone.

While the need is obvious, creating user-friendly, actionable reports requires work and up-front evaluation of which data points to track. In a survey entitled "Tough Times Call for Tough Measures," eMetrics investigated how the economy has affected marketing budgets and sparked a subsequent interest in web analytics. In fact, 80 percent of respondents indicated that senior management has expressed an increased interest in the segment. Overwhelmingly, budgets for web analytics are also increasing -- stemming from the perceived need for additional analytics resources, which was cited by 70 percent of respondents.

So what does this all mean? It means that analytics teams are going to continue to be in high demand, marketing budgets are likely going to be scrutinized more than ever, and clients' internal teams are going to want to have a say in how their analytics are executed. Starting with the initial setup, here are some thoughts on how to set up analytics dashboards to elicit the best data for your clients.

How analytics can help
Marketing dashboards are an indispensible tool to get a holistic and high-level view of how key metrics are performing, and if key performance indicators (KPIs) are linked to business goals and objectives, marketing teams can make appropriate campaign adjustments to ensure every dollar, placement and tactic is contributing their clients' bottom line.

The three overarching advantages of an optimized dashboard is the ability to gauge and report on campaign ROI, improving visibility for senior management and ensuring the proper allocation of budget. When these insights combine, clients and agencies are able to work cooperatively to maximize marketing budgets. In short, proper analytics lead to educated decisions.

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